Ensemble Studios’ Age of Empires conjures images of a kick-ass medieval RTS franchise brimming with blades of steel and mighty castles. Nothin’ wrong with that, right? Apparently, it depends on who you ask!

After the first game in that million-selling series was completed, lead designer Rick Goodman thought it was time to broaden the game’s horizons. Unfortunately for him (and maybe for us), many of the people at Ensemble were content simply to refine the core game that had proved so successful. So Rick left to build his own game company, Stainless Steel Studios, where he would be free to design the title he thought Age of Empires II should have been.

The fruit of his labor is Empire Earth, and while it isn’t perfect, it does offer up one hell of a good time.

The game’s hook is its 14 epochs (time periods), which chronicle the progression of human civilization from its early days in 500,000 B.C. all the way through the not-so-distant future of 2200 A.D. Cavemen, archers, swordsmen, riflemen, airplanes, ships, subs, tanks, cyborgs, mechs, and many more are all contained in this one massive game.

The Age of Empires games have only four relatively small age-leaps, and your ultimate goal in most multiplayer battles is to build up to the final age as quickly as possible so that you’re able to gain access to the powerful units. Empire Earth’s varied epochs provide way more depth than that in its gameplay options.

Multiplayer battles and single-player skirmishes are the best parts of this game, and are scream-out-loud-like-a-little-girl-when-stuff-blows-up fun. Each epoch is a self-contained, fully playable RTS game unto itself. Furthermore, you can create games that start and end in any sequential epochs you choose. World War I through the Modern Age is a span of time I enjoy playing a great deal.

Standard and Tournament are the two rule sets to choose from in multiplayer and single-player skirmishes. In Standard mode, it’s tough to progress through the ages because of high costs and slow build times. In Tournament mode, build times are reduced and epoch upgrade costs are lowered to facilitate a faster gameplay experience — amen to that, brother!

Empire Earth allows you to customize your civ to a never-before-seen degree to suit your style of play. At the start of each game (Standard or Tournament rules) you’re given five minutes to pick your civilization’s bonuses. There are well over 100 to choose from, and they range from unit-type-specific attack bonuses to an increase in the efficiency of your farms. Upgrades increase in cost depending on numerous factors, and you’re given only 100 points to spend at the start of each game, so choose wisely.

Players who like to just jump in and go can also choose from one of the game’s 21 pre-made civilizations. Make sure you pick one that’s appropriate for the epoch you’re playing: gaining bonuses to the armor strength of tanks and fighter jets won’t help much if you’re playing in the Middle Ages!

As impressive and gripping as the stories are in the game’s four single-player campaigns (each one brings you a bit closer to modern times and the future than the last), I didn’t have nearly as good a time with them as I thought I might. The individual scenarios that make up the campaigns are long and hard — not just because Empire is a hardcore RTS in which you’re always having to pay close attention to the “rock, paper, scissors” rules of combat, but because the mission objectives are too often muddled or misleading. Time and time again, I ended up with far too small an army to accomplish my goals if I relied only on in-game mission tips and recommendations as my guide.

Make no mistake, this game is tough, and while you can adjust difficulty settings in single-player skirmishes and multiplayer games, you cannot do so in any of the campaigns. The compelling stories do make them worth fighting through, however, so my tip is to always build more units than you think you’re going to need based on what the game is telling you.

Graphically, Empire is rich and detailed — especially compared to other 3D RTS games. The animations are smooth and varied, and if you zoom in close enough, I think you may even be able to see Rick Goodman’s face on one of the characters in the game! Despite Empire’s 3D engine, you can’t rotate the camera — the only time you’ll see it spin is during the nifty
in-game movies that pop up every so often in the single-player campaign missions.

Overall, the game’s music is pretty good, though it gets a bit repetitive. The sound effects, on the other hand, are first-rate, and really bring you into the action in each age.

Empire Earth certainly has a massive scale, but it still feels like it belongs in the Age of Empires series. I think that point speaks very highly of it. I’ve clocked innumerable hours with it so far, and I think I’ve barely scratched the surface of what all the many units and time periods have to offer. Believe me, this is one we’re going to be playing around the office for a while to come.

— Greg Vederman